China Rail Market News

Chinese cash is to be used to build a railway in East Africa following the signing of formal agreements in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi. The new railway line will run from the costal city of Mombasa, through to Nairobi, and will eventually connect cities in Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and South Sudan.

Railway use in China has soared during the first three quarters of 2011, with 11.6 per cent more journeys taken during the period when compared to last year. In total 1.43 billion journeys were taken, with many Chinese taking to newly-built high-speed railways across the country.

China has taken a major step in the roll out of high-speed rail with the completion of a test-run of the Beijing-Shanghai link, with the public launch set to take place this Thursday. However a former top office has expressed concerns over the safety of the trains, which can travel up to 350km/h.

Authorities in Beijing have unveiled plans for a mega aviation infrastructure construction spree that includes 45 new airports over the next five years. Industry regulator, the Civil Aviation Administration, said the new investments would take China’s total number of airports to 220. However concerns have been raised about overcapacity, given that most of the country’s existing airports are currently loss-making.

China has flexed its muscles as the new leader in high-speed rail by breaking a new world record for fastest passenger train. The Harmony Express hit a top speed of 302mph during a test run between capital Beijing and the financial hub of Shanghai.

China has unveiled ambitious plans to export its rail technologies worldwide, including the creation of a global network that would slash train times between Beijing and London to as little as two days.

Revenue services on the Wuhan – Guangzhou passenger-dedicated line began running on December 26, cutting the journey time between the capitals of Hubei and Guangdong provinces to under 3 h, compared with 10 h 30 min via the 1 068 km conventional route. The inaugural trains left the new stations at Wuhan and Guangzhou Bei at 09.00 on the first morning, with southbound train G1001 recording a time of 2 h 48 min at an average speed of 329·3 km/h.